Are you ready for Immersive Talent Attraction?

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg walked onto the stage at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona and catapult Virtual Reality (VR) into the mainstream of digital media at #MWC16.

If you’ve used a VR headset, it’s clear how immersive 360-degree video is about to bring rich virtual reality to our digital experiences.
Maybe it’s not so clear how immersive technology can… and will… impact the way companies engage and attract the most talented employment candidates to build the next generation of their businesses.

In case you haven’t noticed, immersive experiences are quickly becoming a vital part of early learning, especially in STEM curricula. Early this summer, a heavy-hitting group of institutions will gather at the University of Padova for the European Immersive Education Summit. Showcase attendees will include MIT, Stanford, NASA, Intel, Disney, and the US Department of Education.

So now that the core of Gen-Z is about to connect big-time with immersive experiences, how can we track that forward to their career decisions? The fact is, it’s a pretty easy connection to make. Today, in the US alone, more than 1,000 public and private universities offer immersive 360° virtual tours. That means that hundreds of thousands of students—the students your recruiters are trying to engage—are already immersing themselves in this technology.

As with all contemporary social technologies, emerging generations drive adoption. In the case of immersive experiences, leading institutions of higher learning are investing in a big way.

Bad news first… Graduating bachelor’s and Master’s students are ahead of you in their adoption of immersive media. For talent acquisition professionals, that means there’s a new and growing technology hurdle to overcome as you connect talent with your business (just when you thought you had that mobile technology conquered).

Now the good news… University audiences provide your team with the perfect isolated proving ground for getting your feet wet with immersive talent engagement.

When you do, be sure to align your goals with the key advantages that immersive interactions can provide:

Immersive experiences are still a valuable differentiator…
Create branded tools and promotions that engage candidates earlier and help them share their experience with friends. Your brand will stand out as memorable and disruptive to the status quo.

Virtual Reality video can take candidates places they can’t normally see…
Take them deep into the compelling work surroundings and interactions they’ll experience once they come on board. Let them meet people who are just a year or two ahead of them—real people who have rich stories to share.

VR is a “self-directed” opportunity…
Give candidates choices on where they can go—maybe even create a virtual scavenger hunt. They’ll value your transparency and will associate that openness with your culture and your employer brand.

Immersive experiences can expand both your “reach” and your “touch”…
Engage with MORE candidates earlier. You’ll create viral word-of-mouth promotion and help candidates feel like they already know and trust you as an employer.

Start thinking about how you’ll apply VR and augmented reality (AR) in YOUR talent attraction initiatives. Here are a few thought starters…

Virtual Reality (VR):

Position several 360-degree cameras at your next career event to let virtual viewers join in.

Create early-talent assimilation stories in 360-degree video to let students be within the story.

Offer self-guided 360-degree tours of an innovation center with audio and text captioning.

Augmented reality (AR):

Let candidates hold and examine your disruptive technology in the palm of their hand with an augmented 3D smartphone app.

Create event posters that have an executive host come to life when viewed with a smartphone app. Your host can come to life and preview event content and value.

Deliver a sequence of augmented-reality stories for students to view as they wait in line at your booth at a career fair.

Then stay tuned to this blog for more big ideas in the coming weeks. We’re always cooking up the next big thing for talent and audience engagement.

Feel like you’re ready to take the next step? Drop us a note and let’s talk about igniting interest in your candidate audience.